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If You're Thinking of Living in: Scotch Plains

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SETTLED in 1684 by dissenters who fled Scotland to escape the persecution of the Church of England, the lush, affluent Union County township of Scotch Plains prides itself on its diversity and tolerance.

"We have more than a dozen houses of worship representing many different faiths, and we are color-blind," said Mayor Alan M. Augustine.

Indeed, this 9.2-square-mile township still has many of the qualities the original settlers prized. In a letter to friends in Scotland in 1684, Thomas Fullerton wrote, "There is an abundance of good land for improving, abundance of swine and cattle for raising and deer for killing." Today, deer and other wildlife often stroll into residential areas from the 800 acres of undeveloped county land that make up the Watchung Reservation on the northern end of the township and the Ashbrook Reservation on the south side.

Like her 17th-century predecessors, Linda Ragan said she moved to her house in the Scotchwood section of the township "because we wanted a bit of land."

According to Vivian Young, a sales representative with Coldwell Banker Schlott Realtors in neighboring Westfield, most of the homes in Scotchwood were built with pools in the late 1950's and early 60's. Today, four- to five-bedroom homes on Highland Drive or Clydsdale Road sell for $300,000 to $500,000.

Mrs. Ragan and her husband, Edward, both insurance executives, moved to Scotch Plains from Manhattan in 1984. "We wanted to get out of the city and considered Long Island, but it was too crowded," she explained. "Here, we have a one-acre lot with a private backyard and lots of trees. And the commute to Manhattan is palatable."

She describes her neighbors as "friendly and involved," and says that many of the older houses in the township are now being sold to families with young children. Her two boys, Daniel and Michael, are 1 and 3 years old respectively.

The third largest municipality in area in Union County, after Elizabeth and Linden, Scotch Plains is equally divided between large, postwar houses south of the N.J. Transit railroad tracks and smaller, prewar houses on small lots near Route 22, north of the tracks. The closest railroad station is in Fanwood, a one-square-mile borough nearly surrounded by Scotch Plains.

Two-bedroom, prewar Cape Cods and colonials on 35- by 100-foot lots on Warren Street or Harding Road in the northern section of town are priced from $160,000 to $180,000, said Betty Lynch, a broker with Barrett & Crain Realtors. Occasionally, handyman specials can be found for as little as $140,000.

On the other end of the housing scale, palatial brick or fieldstone-faced homes, built within the last three years on wooded one-acre lots on Marion Lane or Black Birch Road in the southern section, carry price tags of up to a million dollars.

THERE are 400 town houses and condominiums, most of them in the 290-unit Southwyck section off Lake and Cellar Avenues on the township's southeastern tip. Two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath town houses with garages are priced from $165,000 to $185,000 in Southwyck. One such unit recently went for $169,000. Three-bedroom units cost $10,000 to $20,000 more.

Scotch Plains has about 800 rental units. They are concentrated in four developments in the south end. The largest is the 318-unit Country Club Village, where one-bedroom units rent for $775 and two-bedroom units for $825. "The rentals go fast," said Mrs. Young, "mainly to executives who are relocated to the area."

There are no large factories and the largest employer is the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education, whose jurisdiction includes the neighboring borough. It employs 600 people and runs five elementary schools, two middle schools and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School on Westfield Road in Scotch Plains.

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Many of the elementary school pupils are bused, and the enrollment of each school reflects the ethnic makeup of the district, which has a 12 percent minority population, mostly black. "We think it is an advantage to maintain a representative population throughout," said the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Robert J. Howlett. "The earlier our youngsters are exposed to a diverse population, the better prepared they are for life."

One of the two middle school principals, John Foulks of Terrill Middle School in Scotch Plains, won this year's Golden Lamp Award for outstanding achievement from the Secondary School Principals' Association of New Jersey. Mr. Foulks often lectures in other school districts on the advantages of middle schools, in which grades 6 through 8 are taught in a more sheltered atmosphere than in the traditional 7th, 8th and 9th grade junior high school.

Mr. Howlett says that more than 80 percent of the graduates of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High go on to higher education. The school is known for its outstanding sports program. Its football team is this year's state champion for Group 3 schools, intermediate-sized high schools. Its soccer team captured state championships in 1988 and 1990.

There are about 75 small shops, mostly in a three-block area on Park Avenue, Front Street and Second Street, near the municipal complex. Most residents do their grocery shopping in neighboring Fanwood, Westfield or Watchung and their major shopping at the Short Hills Mall, seven miles away.

IN the oldest part of town, on the corner of Park and Front, is the Stage House Inn, the showcase of the downtown area. The oldest part of the inn, built in 1684 on the site of an even earlier Lenni Lenape Indian village, served such famous patrons as the Marquis de Lafayette. It was also a stop on the Swift-Sure Stage Line, which carried passengers between New York City and Philadelphia in a day and a half in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Today the inn, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, serves an American menu and is surrounded by two dozen restored colonial antique and craft shops.

Among the other restaurants in town are Pantagis Renaissance on Park Avenue, which has an American menu, Sleepy Hollow Inn on Raritan Road, which has a continental menu, and Briana's on East Second Street, which serves French and Italian food.

The owner of the Stage House Inn, John Ferrara Jr., is a lifelong resident of Scotch Plains. While he welcomes growth, he says he believes that much of it was done without proper planning. "In some places, they just cut down all of the trees and packed in housing," he said. "If you can't stop development, you could at least retain the character."

Mr. Ferrara also says that the municipal building, in the commercial heart of the township, should be knocked down to make room for more businesses. "Right now, trying to promote our downtown is like trying to promote a two-ring circus," he maintains.

Mayor Augustine says the building's site was chosen after extensive research by a municipal committee and moving the town hall would be too expensive.

Nearby is the Osborn Cannonball Museum at 1840 Front Street. Built in 1740 by Jonathan Osborn, a farmer, the house was struck by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. Now fully restored, it houses a collection of 18th-century furniture and is open from 2 to 4 P.M. the first Sunday of every month. Guides from the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Historical Society, dressed in colonial garb, give tours of the house and its herb garden.

Scotch Plains has many recreational options. There are three golf courses, including the municipally owned nine-hole Scotch Hills Golf Course off Plainfield Avenue. Residents pay $30 annual membership and $5 greens fees. The largest of the seven town-owned recreation areas is the 28-acre Brookside Park, which has a baseball diamond and basketball, bocci and tennis courts. Free concerts are given on Thursday evenings from June 27 through Aug. 22 at the Village Green, a concrete bandstand and park next to the municipal building. Gazetteer Population: 21,700 (1991 estimate). Median household income: $43,000 (1988 estimate). Median price of one-family house: $200,000 Property taxes on median-priced house: $3,700. Median price of 2-bedroom condominium: $155,000. Median 2-bedroom rental: $750. Public-school expenditure per pupil: $7,000. Codes: Zip, 07076; area, 908. Distance from midtown Manhattan: 26 miles. Rush-hour commutation: 45 minutes via N.J. Transit bus to Port Authority bus terminal; $5.30 one-way, $39 10-trip, $138 monthly. N.J. Transit train, Fanwood to Newark; $3.35 one-way, $28.50 weekly, $94 monthly, then PATH, $1. Government: Mayor (Alan M. Augustine, Republican) and four council members, elected to four-year terms. Aunt Betsy's Stand: Local legend has it that during the battle of Short Hills, which took place in the township on June 26, 1777, Lord Cornwallis smelled fresh bread being baked in the home of Betsy Frazee, now a privately owned house on Raritan Road. When he asked for some for his officers. Mrs. Frazee said, "I give it to you in fear, not love." Cornwallis turned down the offer, tipped his hat and rode off.

Correction: June 30, 1991

An article last Sunday about Scotch Plains, N.J., misstated rental figures for Country Club Village. One-bedroom apartments are $730 a month and two-bedroom apartments are $900.

A version of this article appears in print on June 23, 1991, on Page 10010007 of the National edition with the headline: If You're Thinking of Living in: Scotch Plains. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe